Cervical Spine Pain and the Impact on the Quality of Life of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Background and Objectives: The main aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of cervical pain on the quality of life of patients with multiple sclerosis in comparison with a group of healthy people (without diseases of the Central Nervous System). Materials and Methods: Data were collected at the Specialist Hospital St. Łukasz in Końskie (Poland) in the period from November 2023 to August 2024. The inclusion criteria for this study were as follows: age (20–50 years), women and men, healthy people (without diseases of the Central Nervous System) and people suffering from multiple sclerosis. People from the study group were diagnosed according to the McDonald criteria and tested with the EDSS. The mobility of the cervical spine was measured, and neck pain was assessed using the following: Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Laitinen Scale and the Neck Disability Index (NDI). All participants self-assessed their quality of life using EuroQol 5D-5L (EQ-5D-5L). Results: 80 people took part in this study, the vast majority of whom were women (71.3%). The most common form of multiple sclerosis was relapsing-remitting (75.0%), and the average EDSS score was higher in the male group (1.6 ± 1.8). Cervical spine pain was reported by 27 people from the study group (67.5%) and 16 people from the control group (40.0%). In both groups, the cervical spine mobility was lower in people with neck pain. The level of cervical spine pain was statistically significantly (p < 0.05) higher in women, people living in small towns and in people with multiple sclerosis, depending on the type of disease and its duration. Cervical spine pain in people with multiple sclerosis was higher in all three scales (VAS mean = 5.7, ES = 0.79; Laitinen Scale mean = 10.1, ES = 0.60; and NDI Scale mean = 21.1, ES = 0.89). The study group obtained significantly higher scores on the EQ-5D scale (mean = 15.3; ES = 0.79) and EQ-VAS (mean = 53.2; ES = 0.94). Conclusions: This study proved that cervical spine pain is more common among people with multiple sclerosis. In these people, this problem is rarely diagnosed and properly treated.